Never Again
by The Real JL Rules
Summary: ONESHOT: Lex Murphy gets a surprise phonecall. But the person on the other end is someone she never wants to hear from again... or does she? SWEARING.


_DISCLAIMERS_

 _1\. I DO **NOT** OWN_ JURASSIC PARK _/_ WORLD. _This is just for fun._

 _2\. This is a femslash story. If you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like this._

* * *

The Senior System & Software Coder paused her typing as she reached over to answer her ringing desk phone. "Hello - Alexis Murphy speaking."

There was a pause, before a female voice eventually answered. "Um... Lex?"

Alexis - or Lex when she was not at work - frowned. "Yes... ? Who is this?" The voice sounded awfully familiar, like... _no_. It could not be. Surely.

"It's... " the voice sounded uneasy, "... Claire."

Lex froze, her eyes widening. No. Please, _no_.

"Are... are you there?"

Lex blinked. "Wh... what the... _Claire_? What the... ? How... how did you... get my work number?!"

"That's not important," came the shaky response. "I... I just... "

"I told you to never call me again," seethed Lex. "I thought I made that _perfectly_ clear." She could not deal with this. Not now - not _ever_.

"Lex, please... don't be like that."

The blonde was almost shaking with anger. The damn _nerve_! "What the hell do you expect? You _lied_ to me. You... you tricked me into... "

"Don't you _dare_ ," gasped Claire. "I never tricked you into anything! Lex, please... can't we just... "

"Who the hell do you think you are?" snapped Lex. It was a good thing the blonde had her own office, or she would be getting odd stares from coworkers. "What do you want?!"

"I... " Claire's voice was almost a whine. "I... miss you."

Lex's eyes widened again. "You _what_? You... are you serious? It... it was just one week!" She was too angry to notice her breathing had increased... nor how cold and metaphorically untrue that statement was.

"'Just one week,'" parrotted Claire bitterly. "Is that all it was to you?" She clearly knew Lex's statement was crap.

Closing her eyes, Lex tried to rein in her emotions. "Don't ever call me again," she said, her tone just as bitter. However, before she could hang up, she heard Claire's panicked voice.

"Wait, _please_! I'm sorry! Look, is that what you want? I'm _sorry_! I should've told you!"

"No shit!" yelped Lex. "We spend a whole week together... we end up in eachother's _beds_ \- and not once do you tell me where you worked! Or that I was just a... a _rebound_!"

"You weren't a _rebound_!" shrieked Claire. A few seconds passed as Lex heard her clear her throat, and then Claire spoke again, calmly... almost defensively. "And from what I remember, you didn't _want_ to know where I worked."

Lex's teeth were grinding. "You bi... " She stopped herself, unable to finish the insult, despite her hurt. "How dare you call me?"

Silence for a moment once more. "I... want to see you again. Please, Lex... I'm trying to make peace... "

Lex sat there, fuming. But as she stared out infront of her, her mind went back to that week. When she had met Claire Dearing. And as much as the redhead ruined it at the end, Lex could not deny their time together, despite it's brevity, was _amazing_. Lex always thought the concept of a "whirlwind romance" was absurd... until Claire. Of _course_ Lex missed her - why else would it hurt so much when the week ended in disaster? "You have ten seconds before I slam this phone down," she said before realising it.

"I can't stop thinking about you," Claire said quickly. "I miss you. I miss talking to you. I miss _kissing_ you. Dammit, I miss your painting of me. Please, Lex... can't we just meet up... ?"

What was Lex thinking? She was actually _considering_ it. She tried to stay angry, but she could sense the pain, the hurt, the _want_ in Claire's voice. After all, Lex herself sounded just the same when they last parted. It most definitely _was_ more than "just one week" for her. "You hurt me, Claire," she said, still not ready to give in.

"I know," the redhead sighed. "And I'm sorry. I never meant to - that was the _last_ thing I wanted to do. But I want to fix things. Please, just let me see you again... "

This was insane. Lex could barely believe what she was saying next. "I suppose so... "

The relief in Claire's voice was unmistakable. "That's _great_ ," she gasped. "Oh Lex, I promise, I'll make it all upto you. We can see all the sights. We'll have the best meals. I'll treat you like a princess... "

Lex felt herself blushing. "You in the area now? I... I finish at five today... "

"No, no, I'm back at work myself," Claire said excitedly. "But don't worry - I can have a chopper - no, a _private jet_! - come pick you up tonight and... "

" _What_?" choked Lex. She could not believe it. Claire was not in the city. Not even in the _country_. She was... _there_.

Lex started shaking. "Lex, what's wrong?" came Claire's concerned voice. "I'm sorry, but I have to stay here. I wish I could pick you up myself, but... "

"You... are on that... _Godforsaken_ _ISLAND_?"

"I, I... of course," Claire stammered. "I work here. I don't understa... _oh_."

Uncontrollably, the blonde began shaking her head. "No. No no no no. There... there is _no way_ I'm... _ever_... "

"Honey, calm down... "

"D... don't you _DARE_!" bellowed Lex. "You... you _actually_ think I'm... I'm _ever_ gonna step one _foot_ on that _hellhole_ again?!"

"Lex, I understand, but... "

"Me and my brother nearly _died_ there!" Lex yelled. "We were nearly eaten by... !" She stopped. Her chest was heaving, her hands visibly shivering.

"I read all about what happened," said Claire softly. "It'll be fine; the park's completely safe. There's nothing to worry about, I _swear_. Look, just get on the plane tonight and... "

"You're _insane_ ," sneered Lex. "That... that's the last place on Earth that's fucking ' _safe_ '. People _died_ , Claire! How can you still work there?! It's madness!"

"We haven't had an incident in more than three years," said Claire. "And even then, it was just... "

"An incident? An _incident_!" Lex was incredulous. "Is that what you call it now?!"

"Lex, please, just listen to me," soothed Claire. "Everything will be alright. If you want, I can take you to see Rexy. You'll see how good she's... "

" _Rexy_?" Lex's eyes were like saucers. "You give them petnames?! Oh my God... oh my God... you're all... "

"Darling, _please_ calm down," Claire pleaded. "Once you get here, you... "

"And ontop of all that, you only give me an afternoon's notice!" Lex's shakes were getting worse.

"I want us to spend as much time as possible together," explained the redhead. "And my nephews are coming to the park next week, so I'll be too... "

Her _nephews_? That was it - Lex could hear no more. Claire was certifiable. "You're all fucking _lunatics_! Your _nephews_? Oh my God... you're all... " Her voice calmed, belaying the rage within. "You're all insane," she said simply.

"I know it'll be hard for you," Claire tried, her tone breaking. "But once you get here, you'll see... P... please, I need to see you _so much_. You, you don't _know_... !"

"There is no way I'm ever, _ever_ getting on that island _EVER_ again!" Tears started trickling down Lex's cheeks. "Don't you _ever_ speak to me again!"

"Lex _PLEASE_ , I think I _LO_... "

Lex slammed the phone down.

For a full minute, Lex sat there, staring at the wall. Her body was still shaking. How... what was Claire thinking? What was _she_ thinking? How could she have considered... ?

Lex knew why. She missed the redhead terribly. In their oh-so-short week together, Lex felt things she had not before. If it was not absolutely absurd, she would say she had fallen in... But _no_. Lex could not listen to her heart: not with her nightmares so... _so_... Lex's trembles increased yet again. It was 22 years - but the nightmares remained.

Her teeth started chattering. Lex blinked back tears as she minutely tried to calm her breathing, to no avail. She knew what was happening. Her body would not stop. Her breathing would not slow. She closed her eyes, trying to stem what was about to...

Too late.

It all came back. The screams. The shrieks. The _roars_...

Quickly, Lex opened her desk drawer and rumaged around desperately. She had not had to do this at work for months - her regular morning intake more than enough - so they were buried beneath various pieces of office crap. Her pace quickened, her need to find her objective growing deeper. As tears continued to stream, she felt her panic rising evenmore. "P... please... " Lex inhaled a big gulp of air as her hand gripped on her goal. Without pausing, she removed the anti-depressants and, once popping them from their blister prison, swallowed two pills in one go. Once washing them down with what seemed like a gallon of water, she closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing.

Calm... calm... it was alright... remember the exercises... just breath _slowly_...

The memories quieted. They did not fade - they would _never_ fade - but gradually, Lex began to relax. Her body stablised, her heartbeat going back to normal...

There was no way she was ever, _ever_ going to that island again.

But the pain in Clare's voice... the want... the need...

 _No_. _Never_.

Lex darted her eyes as her phone rang again...

THE END


End file.
